Heart failure and COPD are common and they commonly co-exist in the same patient. Diagnosis may be difficult during acute exacerbation.
BNP/nT-pro-BNP is good Negative predictive value to rule out the presence of heart failure.
Spirometry is useful when the patient’s volume status is optimized. During acute HF exacerbation, diagnostic accuracy may be limited.
ECHO may be helpful to rule out systolic or diastolic dysfunction.
Why is it important to know?
Some therapies in COPD may be associated with worsening cardiac events in HF patients.
1) Oral steroids: - increased sodium and fluid retention.
2) Beta2 agonist: - increased HR and increased oxygen demand.
3) Aminophylline: - increased risk of arrhythmia.
You can further read about this in Link between COPD and HF
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